Israeli protester who set himself on fire dies

JERUSALEM - The Associated Press

People try to extinguish flame after a man set himself on fire during a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, July 14, 2012. AP photo

An Israeli hospital says a man who set himself on fire a week ago to protest the country’s high cost of living has died of his wounds.
 
The Sheba Medical Center said that 58-year-old Moshe Silman died today as a result of the severe burns he sustained.
 
Cases of self-immolation as a form of protest are extremely rare in Israel.
 
The country was shocked last Saturday when, during a rally in Tel Aviv marking the first anniversary of a wave of social protests that swept the country, Silman doused himself in gasoline and set himself alight.
 
Friends say Silman felt he had no way out after falling on hard times.
 
Social activists say the desperate act highlights how dire Israel’s social problems have become.